FEBRUARY 2019 IF/EF Chat ALL WELCOME

(I came for the weight loss and stayed for my sanity... ) #61

Only made it to 38…
I was feeling fine but hungry and cold.
I think my last meal of [spoiler]creamy cauliflower soup[/spoiler] wasn’t fatty enough…
I have a few things in the fridge to prepare anyway tonight. I’ll have two meals and try it again.

#62

Hey everyone,

IF is new for me. I started a week ago, with a 16:8 schedule (unfortunately I cannot do the classic 18:6 because of my working hours).
For a beginner, do you think it’s best to do it only every other day, less, or everyday is fine?

#63

Welcome, Clarence. It would be quite useful to know a little more, so folks can provide you with some advice. Like when you say IF is new to you, are you new to keto/LCHF in general, or just Fasting itself? … Also, are you Fat Adapted? Are you used to eating 2 meals or 3 meals a day presently? Etc.

For the most part, if you are Fat Adapted or simply used to cutting out meals (As I myself was way before learning of Keto) it can be as simple as ‘Eat when you’re hungry, and don’t eat when you’re not’. But Fasting is simply an additional tool to Keto, but should never feel forced. So whether you do TMAD (Two meals a Day) or OMAD (One meal a Day) I would still recommend changing it up, so to basically keep your body guessing and not allowing it to adapt to any scheduled eating routine. … For instance, I usually do OMAD, but will try to throw in an additional meal here and there, or change the times I eat. All these things can help keep things changed up, and for me, this seems to work well. :slight_smile:

#64

Thank you Dave for your answer! :slight_smile:

I’m a new to both Keto and fasting. I am not fat adapted yet, but I know I’m entering into ketosis as I have some symptoms of the Keto flu. I am used to 3 meals a day, with big breakfasts every morning. I have to say I’m not used to cutting out meals. In the past, when it was absolutely necessary, it was something very hard to do for me.

I find the 16:8 easy to do for now, even everyday, and I feel great, more alive, less tired, and I don’t have “food comas” anymore. Thank you for the advice of changing my eating schedule every now and then, I will definitely try that. :slight_smile:

#65

Not a problem, Clarence. Just don’t rush it. I would say stick to the meals you’re presently eating, and I would suggest trying to work on just eating Keto-Friendly foods and more over, just not snacking. By not eating between those meals, this will help by not creating additional insulin spikes throughout the day.

Believe me, if you keep to just eating Keto and not snacking, it won’t be long before your hunger will start to dissipate and then you might want to look at dropping a meal or two? But again, this is not a necessity. But it does help when you can put more time in between meals, such as going from Dinner, to lunch the next day. Which if you did dinner at 6pm, and lunch the next day at 12Noon, that would be the 18 hrs. between those meals, making the eating window 6 hrs. apart. :slight_smile: But in the mean time, read up a bunch stuff on here to learn more and you will also meet a great group of folks along the way. :slight_smile:

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #66

This is blood draw pre-week for my annual physical. Feldman protocol coming up with feasting for the 4 days before the blood draw fast. No coffee.

I’m at about 27 hrs into a short EF. Will make it to at least 43 hrs. Might go to 54hr. It’s been a little harder today because of the [spoiler]aromas[/spoiler] in my office building.

Can I get a cheer me on, please?

(Bob M) #67

I’ll cheer you on: Fasting does get easier the longer in time you do it. By that, I mean the 4th day is easier than the third, the third is easier than the second, etc. Keep going! Do you have any herbal tea? I often use this as a last resort. It can help.

Anyone here trying Dr. Fung’s 1-3 times of 36 hour fasts per week? I’m going to try for two this week, one next week (I normally fast Monday, but Monday is a holiday).

#68

You got this, no worries. :slight_smile:

(Bob M) #69

I personally believe in fooling my doctor, as I don’t want to tell him I’ll be dead before I’ll take a statin. And I do not believe – not even a tiny, little bit – that LDL causes heart disease.

#70

Thank you very much for your all your advice Dave :slight_smile:

(Not a cow) #71

I’m in for today and tomorrow, just started a 48 hr fast last night so I’m 21 hours in , and almost halfway. I regularly do OMAD, but tonight there will be NOMAD. Feeling like i can accomplish this so far, but if not, a 36 hour fast will do me, and I can try again next week. I’ll fill ya all in tomorrow night.

(Shane) #72

I’m not much further along than you are. For me IF seems to be my natural state. I rarely ate in the morning anyway and once I cut out bulk carbs I didn’t need to snack in the evening, so for me it’s IF every day. I throw in a EF every now and then when I feel like it.

Dave will set you straight.

(Amanda) #74

Quick question, when do you end a fast?

I’ve read that you will know when, but how? I’m currently on hour 64 of an impromptu fast. I’m just waiting until I “know” I need to eat. Any tips? I am worried a bit about post-fast diarrhea and Valentine’s day combo. :heart: :poop:

I have been taking my vitamins every day and had one ACV with lemon juice and cinnamon drink last night and the night before, two cups of black coffee each day and about 3-4 L of water daily and one scoop of Naka electrolytes yesterday and today. Anything else I should do? I haven’t felt the need for HPS, yet, but I have a little jar in my bag if I do.

Thanks for any tips, hints or insights!

#75

Thanks for your answer, Shane. When you do a EF, how much time does it usually last? And is it something that you do regularly?

(Cancer Fighting Ketovore :)) #76

A benefit of IF: not needing to get up for lunch when you have a sleeping baby on your chest. :slightly_smiling_face:

(Bob M) #77

If you are going to Valentine’s dinner, I’d break at least at lunch that day. I almost always have to go to the bathroom shortly after eating for a long fast. It’s getting better, but it’s reliably within not too long after eating.

(Bob M) #78

I miss those days! Now, my oldest (11) is taller than her mother and sits in the front seat of the car. Yikes! Where did time go?

(Shane) #79

I don’t have any set routines for anything. I’ll do an EF when I feel like it. Like the last I talked about earlier in this thread. I was having breakfast later in the day and had a spare 5 or 6 days to fast and re-feed.
I normally do 3-4 days. I’m bored and my body wants food after that and I don’t see the point in doing less (for me). This last one was an easy 3 days and I stopped short because I’ve got lots on starting tomorrow and I wanted a couple of days to settle back into my normal mode. The one before was 4 days. Each to their own, I do my thing and others should do theirs. You’ll work out what works you.

#80

Hi Amanda, one of the things about breaking a fast, is that is has to do with how and what you use to break it with. Like there are some foods that most will avoid, since they are know to have a tendency to cause adverse effects, i.e., bathroom issues. Two very well known items are Eggs and Nuts. There are probably other things that could/will cause this as well, but it will differ from person to person and unfortunately, this sometimes takes some testing to learn just what things effect you.

But for me, this isn’t an issue at all, until I go beyond 48 hrs. which I usually do. - I would suggest you break early enough, so that if this does happen and you happen to experience diarrhea, you will give it enough time to clear up before your outing. (I usually have to the restroom go 2 or 3 times within the first couple hours of breaking to clear this up. But as I said, this does happen unless I screw up and eat either Eggs or Nuts) And I have done this, eating a Salad, and forgot my Wife added sliced Eggs in it) But for now, I would avoid them until you can learn if they would effect you in this manner.

For now, I have a couple suggestions you can try. Either break with a small Salad with some Olive Oil and a little dressing, and then wait 30-60 minutes before consuming a meal. Or I’ve also read that you can eat a couple bites of meat, again wait 30-60 minutes and eat a meal. … Main thing is to introduce a small amount of food to kickstart your system, so the larger meal doesn’t trigger this reaction. So with a little thought as to you break, you can avoid this, and it does get easier the more you do it. :slight_smile:

Hope this helps, and yes, some folks can and do indeed break with Eggs, Nuts, etc. and it doesn’t seem to bother them in the slightest. But I would still highly suggest breaking while at home and not some place where getting to a restroom might be an issue. (Bar on the side of safety!)

(Amanda) #81

Great advice! Thank you.